Participating in one of the golf tournaments in Texas can be a great way to test your golfing skills. But are you prepared? Maybe you have mastered the shots, spent hours in perfecting your strikes, but have you trained (or tamed) your ego? Experts explain that being too hung up on your self-worth can lead to under performance. Here are a few things you must know.
Is It Really a Problem?
Unfortunately it is. Most of the time we see ourselves harping on swing mechanics and posture while ignoring psychological conditions. But if you think it through you will understand that the more you concentrate on not to make an embarrassing shot, the less you are focusing on the components that can make great shots. You need a calm mind to let the training or practice-based knowledge kick in and help you execute perfect swings. Your self-sabotaging ego rarely lets you trust and follow your routine, which leads you to plowing through the greens.
Why Do We Do This?
Our ego is a psychological response against fear. It develops a series of future assumptions on how things can go wrong. Then we start to relate these assumptions with mishaps in the past and overwork ourselves trying to find a better solution and hit that perfect swing. In the process we forget our practiced swing routines completely. Needless to say, it is not how you should play golf.
How to Take Care of this Problem?
A healthy competition is always good for improving skill set, but it’s very wrong to expect that each shot will be a masterstroke. The moment you start demanding that out of yourself, remember it’s your ego hijacking your logical understanding of things. In reality, everybody makes that terrible swing once or more in his lifetime; even the pros are not out of that list. However, only practice and a relaxed mood can help you move past the shots. So, keeping things calm and cool even when your peers are gawking at you can help you use your talents successfully while enjoying the game.
You also need to keep your eyes off the scorecard. If you start thinking too much about scores, self-doubt will seep in, which is well-known for shooting down performance levels. So, focus on the present and be confident about your practice-earned skills, but not too confident. Just try to enjoy the same and you will be okay.
The moment you feel stressed and an urge to over-think the whole situation becomes strong, step back from the position and take a few moments. Try to look at it from a kid’s perspective, and you will see how unnecessarily worked up you are. Soak in all the greenness around and push aside imaginary visions of failure. Try to be in the moment and swing away.
Generally, tournaments and similar types of competitive events bring out the ego in even the calmest of minds. Quite naturally, when you are participating in one of the golf tournaments in Texas or other places, you would want to play the best shots of your life. Get real, that’s not going to happen. You would do yourself and your game a world of good if you stop trying to impress others by attempting impossible shots. Exploring limits is a good way to develop skills, but it needs a controlled non-judgmental environment. Reserve those for practice sessions and only play the shots that you have worked for.
Sportsmanship is the best quality in any player. Golf, of course, is no exception. Play it in style, enjoy the game, and leave your ego outside the greens.